A Good Morning America Book Club Pick and a New York Times bestseller! “A page-turner for booklovers everywhere! . . . A story of family ties, their lost dreams, and the redemption that comes from discovering truth.”—Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Shoemaker’s Wife In New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis’s latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic … Fiona Davis’s latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces.
It’s 1913, and on the surface, Laura Lyons couldn’t ask for more out of life—her husband is the superintendent of the New York Public Library, allowing their family to live in an apartment within the grand building, and they are blessed with two children. But headstrong, passionate Laura wants more, and when she takes a leap of faith and applies to the Columbia Journalism School, her world is cracked wide open. As her studies take her all over the city, she is drawn to Greenwich Village’s new bohemia, where she discovers the Heterodoxy Club—a radical, all-female group in which women are encouraged to loudly share their opinions on suffrage, birth control, and women’s rights. Soon, Laura finds herself questioning her traditional role as wife and mother. And when valuable books are stolen back at the library, threatening the home and institution she loves, she’s forced to confront her shifting priorities head on . . . and may just lose everything in the process.
Eighty years later, in 1993, Sadie Donovan struggles with the legacy of her grandmother, the famous essayist Laura Lyons, especially after she’s wrangled her dream job as a curator at the New York Public Library. But the job quickly becomes a nightmare when rare manuscripts, notes, and books for the exhibit Sadie’s running begin disappearing from the library’s famous Berg Collection. Determined to save both the exhibit and her career, the typically risk-averse Sadie teams up with a private security expert to uncover the culprit. However, things unexpectedly become personal when the investigation leads Sadie to some unwelcome truths about her own family heritage—truths that shed new light on the biggest tragedy in the library’s history.
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NYPL, early-20th-century, late-20th-century, journalist, theft, women, mystery
I came to the home of Patience and Fortitude and stayed for the excellent storytelling. I had been hoping for a story about a family who had lived in the hidden apartment in the library and also one about the intrabuilding book retrieval system that has been in place for so very many years and here is a book with all of that and more. This one takes in the beginnings of the rights of women movement which later devolved into women’s suffrage, family stresses and secrets, as well as potential scandals about missing books. I loved it and look forward to an audio version that I can read no matter what else I am doing (even though I prefer the scent of books).
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Dutton and Plume via NetGalley. Thank you!
I really enjoyed The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis. I have read several other novels by the author and this one is probably my favorite. I thought the setting of the New York Public Library was unique. The novel follows two main characters, Laura in 1913-14, and Sadie, her granddaughter, in 1993, as they try to determine who has been stealing valuable books from the library and why. The way the two stories were woven together was well down.
Most interesting to me was Laura’s storyline and how her character evolved during the year she studied journalism at Columbia University. Davis did a good job of including a variety of social issues that are still relevant today. I recommend picking up this book when it is released in August.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.